Renaissance
by Kyriadalyn
Summary: Squall disappears from Garden, leaving friends and family behind, to find a new life beyond the Sorceress War. The gang isn't quite ready to give up on him though...S/S lemon, eventually.
1. Orphan

Renaissance.  
  
Chapter One. Orphan.  
  
By Kyriadalyn  
  
This is a lemon. A lemon epic, if such a thing exists.  
  
If you can't deal with Squall and Seifer going at it, tough cookies. You will just have to go elsewhere.  
  
I am not even bothering with a disclaimer because it's just stupid. If I owned them, I sure as hell wouldn't be working.  
  
That is all.  
  
***  
  
He strode down the dusty road, quickly, efficiently, as a commander should. There was a pack over his shoulder and his gunblade hung from his hip. He took no notice of his surroundings. He would not be coming back.  
  
Not much more than a mile away, another persona of the sorceresses' war was finally coming home.  
  
It was ironic the way they always seemed to contradict each other like that.  
  
***  
  
Seifer walked through the gates of Garden very slowly, hesitance evident in every step. The small silver-haired girl behind him shoved him forward roughly through the archway. Seifer scowled at her and the young man by her side.  
  
"SEIFER. GO." She barked.  
  
Seifer just scowled even deeper and grumbled something uncomplimentary under his breath.  
  
He trudged his way through the front area, dragging his feet beneath him while his two companions made sure he didn't escape.  
  
As he walked into the lobby, Seifer sighed. He had to admit, it was good to be home, even if it was a last resort.  
  
The bustling of the students, teachers, and faculty; the noise from the fountains, messages ringing out from the intercom, and the distant roar of monsters in the Training Center, it was all so familiar. It was all so safe. He had forgotten how safe this place felt.  
  
Climbing the stairs to the elevator was an exercise in willpower. Of course, having Fujin show her support so strongly, (threats of death by severe maiming if he didn't cooperate), was really inspirational as well. Same for Raijin's ramblings, those were just riveting.  
  
Not that he was bitter or anything.  
  
The elevator moved slowly. Too slowly, but at the same time, not slowly enough. He could feel the tension roiling in his shoulders. This was his last shot. There was nowhere else to go to if this didn't work. Fujin and Raijin seemed convinced that it would be fine, but. Seifer couldn't help but be skeptical.  
  
When the cool metal doors opened, it was like walking the path to judgment, and when he thought about it, it really was. That wasn't a very comforting thought though. There were a lot of people in the room. More than he usually remembered seeing, and he'd been in the commander's office a lot. Fujin and Raijin appeared just as confused as he was.  
  
This had not been expected.  
  
Seifer grabbed the arm of a SeeD as they passed by him to get to the elevator.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
The man barely even acknowledged his presence before shaking him off. "The commander is missing," he said as he disappeared into the elevator.  
  
Missing?  
  
"Seifer."  
  
Quistis Trepe strode up to him, looking as dignified as ever. It was obvious that she was in charge of this mess. She oozed authority.  
  
"I don't suppose you have anything to do with this, do you Seifer?" Her voice was cold, although Seifer could hear just a hint of desperation to it.  
  
"I just got here. I don't even know what's going on. So, no," he replied, feeling strangely proud that for once something wasn't his fault.  
  
Quistis seemed hesitant to talk to him. She was looking at him suspiciously, like she was trying to see whether or not he was lying. She had definitely wanted to have someone to blame her problem on. Seifer shrugged inwardly. He hadn't done anything wrong. Well, other than the obvious.  
  
"Why are you here then?" she asked finally.  
  
Raijin spoke up before he could say anything. "Talked to Squall last week and he said that Seifer could come and live back at the Garden, ya know. We were just bringin' Seifer to see him."  
  
Quistis was startled but hid it quickly. "Squall has been missing for the last three days, so I didn't know you were coming," she said reluctantly. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear absently and smoothed her skirt with the other hand. Seifer knew Quistis well enough to know that those were nervous habits of hers. She was a lot more worried about this than she was letting on. The last time he had seen her do that they were both fourteen and there had been a T-Rexaur standing ten feet behind him in the Training Center.  
  
That meant Squall was really missing.  
  
"Didn't anybody see anything?" he asked, his mind immediately switching into readiness.  
  
Quistis seemed to respond to his business attitude immediately. Got to love military training; leaves you ready for anything. Even sorceresses.  
  
There would be no messing around with these two.  
  
"A couple of students said they saw him outside the Garden the night before he was first reported missing, but that's all. They didn't make any mention of it because Squall has been taking a lot of walks outside Garden lately, so it wasn't anything new. They were the last to see him. No one saw him leaving his office, dorm room, or in town." She frowned sternly at the last part.  
  
"Has he ever left for more than a day before?" Seifer asked, mentally cursing himself for stupidity. If he hadn't been such a coward about coming back to Garden than he would have been there when Squall went missing. He could've helped.  
  
"He's never been gone for more than two days. He's always back by morning on the second day," her frown deepened as she said it. She definitely didn't approve of the commander's habits.  
  
"So you suspect foul play?"  
  
She nodded. "I don't see what else it could be. He's never been gone for this long. He knows that we would get worried if he was and it would be difficult to keep Garden running that long without him if we didn't plan in advance."  
  
"What about Rinoa? She didn't see anything either?" Surely she had to have seen something, she was his girlfriend for Hyne's sake.  
  
Quistis looked confused at first and then her expression turned solemn, and a little sad.  
  
"Squall and Rinoa broke up last month. Rinoa went back to Timber to help the Forest Owls and they haven't seen each other since," she said quietly.  
  
Seifer stared at her blankly.  
  
"The broke up?!" he yelled indignantly.  
  
Quistis just nodded.  
  
"After all that true love bullshit during the war?!"  
  
She nodded again.  
  
Seifer threw his hands up in disgust. "Well that's just ridiculous," he snarled. "They lasted what, two months?"  
  
"Two months and three days," she corrected.  
  
Seifer just stared.  
  
"They broke up on Squall's birthday," she added softly.  
  
"Well, that sucks, ya know?" Raijin put in.  
  
Fujin nodded sagely. "BUMMER."  
  
Seifer ignored them both and continued with the conversation.  
  
"So, no one saw Squall leave, and no one has seen him in the last three days?" He asked incredulously.  
  
Quistis had a strained look on her face. Yes.  
  
"Well, whoever it was, they had to have been good to be able to take Squall down." In the back of his mind though, a voice asked why no one had seen anything when Squall definitely wouldn't have on down without a fight. He kept that thought to himself though. Quistis was obviously worried enough as it was, he didn't need to add fuel to that fire.  
  
"Does the student body know yet," he asked instead.  
  
"No, not yet. Normally we keep this sort of thing quiet since he's always come back by now before. I was going to organize a search party and send it out tonight," she said it like she was asking him for his permission.  
  
"That sounds good, be sure to split the groups up in different directions."  
  
She nodded and turned away to go give out their orders.  
  
"Oh! Quistis!" He called absently.  
  
She looked back at him expectantly.  
  
"Leave someone at the phones just in case he calls, ok?"  
  
She nodded and then added. "Seifer?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"It's good to have you back." And with that she left for the elevator, leaving Seifer behind, stunned.  
  
The search parties turned up nothing and they were forced to give up for the night. It wasn't until later, when Seifer was venting out some of his frustration back in the Training Center that he noticed the slip of paper protruding from the slats of Squall's locker.  
  
Quistis looked up from her desk to the knocking on her door. She got up and after checking through the peephole, opened the door. Seifer stood there, just inside and said something softly.  
  
"He's gone."  
  
***  
  
Squall knocked on the door decisively. The old house seemed to stare it him while he did. Faded blue paint peeled in distain. The building seemed to disapprove of his being there. Like it knew exactly why he was doing this, even though he himself was still not quite sure, and found the whole thing to it's intense dislike. Or maybe, he was just nervous and didn't want to admit it to himself. It wouldn't be the first time.  
  
The door creaked open, just barely. A wizened old face stared out of the gap and looked imperiously at the young man before them. Squall wasn't really sure whether it was a man or a woman. It was disconcerting not being able to tell the difference.  
  
"We have no more room in this house young man," she (he could tell by her voice) said roughly, her voice tinged with distaste. "You'll have to move on to the next one."  
  
She shut the door in his face.  
  
Squall stared at the door for a few moments in confusion. The old woman was clearly off her rocker.  
  
He hoped that everyone else in the building was still sane.  
  
Suddenly, he realized what was going on. It was kind of a rude assumption for her to make. Old bat.  
  
He knocked on the door again and the little old lady popped her face out once more.  
  
"I told you, we have no more room." She sounded angry now.  
  
"I'm not here for a home," he said calmly, settling his shoulder pack onto the ground beside him.  
  
She gave him an appraising look, stepping a little further out from the door.  
  
"You're a little young for this aren't you, son?" She asked him. She looked him over again, as if trying to find any flaws she hadn't already seen. Or if he had any money to spend.  
  
"I'm over eighteen," he said.  
  
"How much older?" She looked skeptical.  
  
"Old enough."  
  
Squall was getting annoyed. It was any of her business how old he was. He was old enough, end of discussion. This old lady and her decrepit old house were giving him too much trouble. Maybe he shouldn't do this. Maybe he should go somewhere else. Maybe he should go back. Back to.  
  
No.  
  
He was not going back. And he was not going somewhere else. The old broad would just have to deal with the fact that he was young.  
  
"You gonna quit standing there and come in or not?" She snapped. Squall stared at her blankly.  
  
"Well?" She added.  
  
Squall picked up his bag and stepped inside.  
  
The house was just as ancient looking inside as it was out. A few dusty and very worn out looking braided rugs covered the floor of the front hall. The wallpaper was peeling off and faded, and the wooden floor looked like if it was worn down any more you would strike dirt. And it was loud.  
  
There were kids everywhere.  
  
The building was absolutely crawling with them. Tall, short, girls, boys, babies, and even a couple very close to his own age. A group playing some sort of tag rushed by and a young girl collided into him.  
  
"Sorry!" She squeaked, blushing madly. Squall nodded vaguely and she bolted from sight. He looked at the spot where she had stood bemusedly. Definitely no girls. He wouldn't know what to do with one. He turned to the old lady who was now trying to separate a pair of grappling twins.  
  
"Do I just.pick?" He asked her, eyes circling the madness around them.  
  
"Obviously," she said, clearly disgusted with him.  
  
Squall turned around once in a circle. There were so many. So many. It was disturbing that there were so many. It also made it very difficult to choose. He hadn't really thought about what he would want specifically. After a few minutes he declared defeat and decided to sit back and watch for a while before choosing.  
  
There were a few that caught his eye specifically.  
  
One dark haired boy that looked to be about twelve was playing chess with another. He looked intelligent. He looked interesting.  
  
That is, he did until he started hitting the other kid when he lost.  
  
Scratch that.  
  
There was a red headed girl of about fourteen or so that looked positively desperate to get out of the place, but she was a little too old, and a girl really would be awkward. It would look bad too.  
  
Never mind that.  
  
He looked over to the living rooms musty windows and saw something much better though. A little boy, probably five or six, with dark brown hair and enormous brown eyes was sitting on the windowsill. He was alone, with some faded colored blocks in front of him. He wasn't really using them though. He was staring out the window at the rocky beach behind the house. The whole scene was terribly familiar to Squall.  
  
Squall got up from his place and picked his way over to the window. The little boy gazed up at him wonderingly.  
  
"You stayin' here now?" he asked in a small voice.  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh, " he said, sounding disappointed. "'Like new kids," he said, clarifying his disappointment.  
  
"What's your name?" Squall asked, noticing that the boys were not actually brown. They were hazel.  
  
"Stef'n," he replied shyly, ducking his head down.  
  
"Stephan. That's a nice name," He said, but then trailed off, unsure of what to say. This was a lot harder than he had expected.  
  
"Gonna 'dopt some'on?" Stephan asked curiously.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Who you gonna 'dopt?" He asked, now quite interested.  
  
"I'm thinking about adopting you," Squall said honestly. Stephan looked thrilled. "Do you not like it here?" Squall asked.  
  
Stephan shook his head.  
  
"Would you like to come with me?"  
  
Stephan nodded vigorously and Squall smiled slightly.  
  
"Okay, " Squall said, and held out his hand. Stephan put his much tinier one in his and Squall picked him up carefully. He walked over to where the old woman was sitting and held Stephan up a little higher for her to see. "I'll be taking him with me."  
  
"I assume you are aware that Stephan is only five and will require a lot of work to take care of," She said fiercely.  
  
"I am."  
  
"Then just sign here, give me the money for him, and you can take him with you." She pointed to a line in a giant ledger next to Stephan's name. Squall sat Stephan down on the table next to the book briefly while he signed and then picked him up again.  
  
"Stephan, meet your new dad," She said raspily.  
  
"Does he have any belongings I should have?" He asked her.  
  
"He has another set of clothing and a stuffed bear, but the bear belongs to the orphanage so he won't be able to take it with him," She told him efficiently. "I can fetch the clothes now."  
  
Stephan made a strangled noise at the mention of the bear. He started struggling in Squalls arms, clearly not prepared to leave without it.  
  
"Noooo," he cried. He started crying thick, wet tears.  
  
Squall held him tighter and asked the woman, "Is there any way I could buy the bear?"  
  
"I suppose you could."  
  
"How much do you want for it?" he asked.  
  
The old woman, clearly seeing a business opportunity responded firmly. "100 gil."  
  
Squall frowned. "Isn't that a bit expensive?" He asked, though his tone implied that it was more than just a 'bit'.  
  
"Sentimental value." She said with a crooked grin.  
  
Stupid old bat.  
  
"I thought the bear was his?" Squall asked, annoyed. Stephan looked aggrieved at having to make such a horrible decision.  
  
She ignored Squall's question completely. "No money, no bear, " she said firmly with ' no bear, no Stephan' blatantly implied as well.  
  
Squall continued to frown. He looked down at the boy in his arms. There were more tears on his cheeks and he looked positively torn.  
  
"Alright."  
  
Squall handed over the money for the bear as well as the money for Stephan. She gave Squall Stephan's clothes and the bear. Squall stuffed the clothes into his backpack on the floor and handed the bear to Stephan who hugged it to himself furiously.  
  
Stephan was rapturous and the woman was grinning happily to herself as Squall with Stephan snuggling closer in his arms.  
  
Squall put Stephan down one more time so he could slip on his backpack. He slid the straps into place and checked to make sure his gunblade was still securely attached to his belt. When he was finished, he stood up and saw Stephan staring at him with wide-eyed interest, clutching the bear tightly.  
  
"Thank you fer Fuzzy." He said solemnly.  
  
"Fuzzy?"  
  
"Fuzzy," he repeated holding out the bear so Squall could see it and the hugging it to himself once more.  
  
Even Squall had to admit it. Stephan was obscenely cute.  
  
"C'mon," Squall said, hoisting Stephan back up into his arms. "Let's go."  
  
"Goin' where?"  
  
"Home," Squall replied, starting to walk.  
  
Stephan seemed to accept this as a reasonable answer and was quiet for a few moments until he asked one last question.  
  
"Daddy, was y'name?"  
  
The kid just called him 'daddy'. Holy Hyne.  
  
"My name is Squall."  
  
"Thas a nice name," he said sagely, mimicking Squall from before.  
  
Squall snickered quietly as they made their quickly way down the road. The house Squall had bought yesterday was at least four villages away and it was going to take a while to get there.  
  
***  
  
Ok then.  
  
How am I doing folks? Tell me. I NEED to know!!! Read and respond.  
  
Constructive critisisms are more than welcome, needless flames will be fed to my brother's lizard, Faye Valentine.  
  
By the way, this will be a lemon later, it's just going to take a REALLY long time to get there so..  
  
Hold on tight, this might be a bit of a bumpy ride.  
  
That is all.  
  
Kyrie. 


	2. Reloading

Renaissance  
  
Chapter Two. Reloading.  
  
By Kyriadalyn  
  
Thank you to all of those who reviewed, you gave me the boost to keep going. I was a little sketchy about posting this at first, so I really appreciate the support.  
  
I sure hope I don't screw this up.  
  
Seifer, Squall, etc. are not mine. (obviously) Stephan, any other original characters, and Squall's frickin' house, however, is mine. DO NOT STEAL THEM. Or Faye Valentine will come to your house and eat you.  
  
Really.  
  
That is all.  
  
***  
  
Seifer slammed the shelf shut and swore. Then the handle broke off.  
  
Seifer swore again, only louder this time.  
  
Squall's disappearance had really pissed him off. Quistis and the others had been heartbroken. Even if they had all acted fine, he knew they were heartbroken. This whole running away thing was total bullshit. He couldn't believe Squall had just run off like that. It was just such a stupid thing to do. He knew Squall did stupid things, but he never done anything this stupid before.  
  
The prick.  
  
Even his explanation for it was stupid. Just a few words scribbled on paper.  
  
Sorry about this. I have to go.  
  
You'll be fine without me.  
  
I leave my position to Quistis if she wants it.  
  
Thank you for all the help you gave me.  
  
Don't worry about me, and don't try to find me.  
  
Squall.  
  
What kind of bullshit is that?  
  
Although, Chicken-wuss's reaction had been pretty funny.  
  
But what the hell! That was supposed to be an explanation? Squall's leaving didn't make any sense. It didn't make any sense and Seifer was tearing himself apart trying to figure it out. If anything, that was what pissed him off the most.  
  
Squall had left. Seifer probably could have dealt with it, if he had been given a reason. But he wasn't. Squall had left without a word, and that was what pissed him off.  
  
He never said anything, he never asked. He didn't tell anyone where he was going. He never even considered what any of his friends might have said about the matter.  
  
Then again, he doubted that Squall considered him a friend.  
  
But that was besides the point.  
  
Squall hadn't stopped to think how other people might have felt about him leaving, and he had always thought that Squall was better than that. That was what made Squall the hero, when he was the villain. Squall wasn't supposed to be selfish; and running off like he did was the most self- centered thing Seifer could think of.  
  
And he still had no idea why Squall had done it, dammit.  
  
Sighing, he got up from his chair and dropped the broken handle onto the desk.  
  
Three days and he had already broken something.  
  
Seifer ran his hand through his hair and surveyed his new dorm room.  
  
It was pretty small. But it was nice, and it was home. It was a home that he had thought he'd lost and he was so glad to have it back.  
  
The walls were a kind of grayish color and the floor was covered in carpet of a slightly darker grey.  
  
The people who had designed this place had obviously not been big on diversity.  
  
His old trench coat was hanging on a peg on the door.  
  
It had been hanging there for the last three days.  
  
He couldn't really bring himself to wear it anymore. He felt too different now from what he used to be. It had become the symbol of everything he had done wrong in his life and it disgusted him. The blood cross would be famous. It would parade across the newly connected television lines, the news shows and the ever-present media. It would exist in infamy from now on in every history book that will ever be written and he hated it.  
  
He had spent two hours the night before last staring at it in fear. Fear of what had happened to him, fear that it might happen again.  
  
Fear of what he might become if it did.  
  
Seifer wondered what it would have been like if he had never left the Garden that day.  
  
He wished he could stop thinking like this.  
  
He stepped out of the dorm room with a violent slam of the door. He didn't even glance at the coat hanging on its hook. He didn't dare to.  
  
Walking down the halls of Balamb Garden was yet another exersize in willpower. Whispers and suspicious glances always followed in the wake of his passing. Every step he took was watched and judged.  
  
He stopped by the infirmary to see Quistis before he went to class. She had been the first and warmest one to welcome him back, oddly enough, and it had made her seem a lot safer than most of the Garden.  
  
Quistis had become the assistant to Dr. Kadowaki after relinquishing her role as Headmaster to some guy named Nida. The only thing she had kept was the job of official Garden representative. Quistis always did have a bit of politician in her.  
  
Seifer thought it was kind of weird that someone he had never even heard of was now the new Headmaster, but according to Quistis, he had been invaluable during her brief career as the commander of Garden. She said that she had been doing a lousy job, though Seifer hadn't noticed anything wrong, so he couldn't really say. Apparently this Nida guy had been the one piloting the Garden during the war. Seifer was kind of surprised he hadn't heard of him before.  
  
"Hey Quistis," he said as he leaned into the doorway.  
  
Quistis was writing something in one of those medical file things and she looked mildly pleased to see him. Seifer figured she must have been really bored. He doubted she would have wanted to see him otherwise.  
  
"Hello Seifer. How are you today?" She said, leaning back in her chair. She was wearing one of those doctor coats, which Seifer never ceased to find amusing when worn by her.  
  
"I'm fine. You look ravishing, as usual, my dear instructor," he replied, flourishing an imaginary hat.  
  
He had returned to his old flirting and teasing very quickly after returning to the Garden. People actually seemed to accept him faster when he did. Not to mention, it was so much easier to just fall back into his old roles than to try and face what he'd done. He wouldn't be able to handle it if he didn't.  
  
He just pretended it had never happened, just like everyone else in the gang.  
  
"You're such a charmer. But remember, I'm not an instructor anymore," she chided him.  
  
"You may not be an instructor anymore, Quistis, but you'll always be my instructor," He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.  
  
"In your dreams Mr. Almasy, in your dreams." She was smiling though.  
  
He clutched his heart in mock pain. "Such harsh words!" he said and then straightened and said, "Besides, I already have you in my dreams, Quisty."  
  
Quistis rolled her eyes at him and he grinned.  
  
"You are absolutely insufferable, Seifer. Now what do want from me?" She said, standing up and taking the folder she had just finished over to the file cabinet on the left wall. Seifer opened his mouth to make a comment about just what he wanted from her, but she cut him off, adding wryly, " I mean besides the obvious."  
  
"Besides your body you mean?" he asked with a smirk.  
  
"Yes, besides that," she said sliding the folder in with the dozens of others.  
  
"Well," he started, suddenly feeling very awkward, " I was just wondering if you had, you know, heard anything from him yet. I mean, 'cause it's not like he would write to me so, you know." He trailed off and the room was seemed suddenly silent.  
  
Quistis had her back to him and she had gone very still.  
  
"No," she said quietly, not turning. "I haven't heard anything yet."  
  
He should have known that there wouldn't be any news. He had known that the chances of there being any word were small, but for some reason he was still horribly disappointed. All of a sudden he didn't want to be in this room anymore. Not even with Quisty. Seifer wanted to get out of this room. He wanted to get out of it now. He shouldn't have asked Quistis about Squall. He should have known that it would have been awkward. He should have known that it would upset her.  
  
He desperately tried to make a reasonable exit before she got mad at him. He didn't want Quistis to get mad at him. She had been the first to forgive him.  
  
"Alright then, I'm just gonna get to class then. Sorry to bug you," he was already half way out the door. "I'll, uh, talk to you later, ok Quistis?"  
  
"Seifer?" She called, just as he was finally leaving.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked, in a small voice.  
  
"I don't. I don't think I'm going to hear from him Seifer," she said softly, almost to quietly to hear.  
  
"I know," he replied, a little sadly. "I know."  
  
They were both very quiet for a while.  
  
"Quistis?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry for everything."  
  
He hadn't planned on saying that. He didn't know why he had. He just did. And now he was terrified at what she would say back. He closed his eyes tightly in apprehension. If he'd ruined everything just after he'd gotten it all back he'd die.  
  
Suddenly there were arms around him. He opened his eyes to see Quistis embracing him tightly, desperately, as if she was afraid that by letting him go this one time, she would lose him forever.  
  
"And I'm sorry for letting you down when you needed me most," she said roughly into his shirt.  
  
Seifer hugged her back and they stayed that way for a while.  
  
Because everything was okay now.  
  
***  
  
Squall pulled up the long driveway with an inner sigh of relief.  
  
Thank Hyne.  
  
Stephan was turning out to be a lot more work than he had initially thought.  
  
Squall had planned coming to the house on foot. After all, it would be a lot cheaper and it wasn't like he couldn't make it alone. The problem was, he wasn't alone.  
  
The first hour or so had been fine, until Stephan started to get bored. He squirmed in Squall's grasp and finally Squall gave up and let him walk on his own. That solved the first problem. Then they had to slow down because regardless of energy levels, and Stephan seemed to be more full of energy than even Selphie, Stephan was still a whole lot smaller than Squall. Which meant much smaller legs. What should have taken a day, took two, and by the end of the second day, Squall simply gave up and rented a car.  
  
It was much, much simpler.  
  
Well, it was until Stephan got bored again.  
  
Although Squall must admit, a day and a half stuck in a car is not exactly thrills and chills. Especially for a five year old.  
  
Squall had to give him credit though. There were a great deal of things he should have thought of before he got Stephan, and Squall was now realizing just how lucky he was to have gotten such an understanding kid. Stephan had been great about all their traveling. A cheap coloring book and crayons that Squall had bought him at one of the many frequented gas stations** had kept him busy for hours.  
  
Squall had never thought there could be so much amusement found in a coloring book and crayons. It was kind of remarkable, really.  
  
And when Stephan had finally filled the book completely, Squall just bought him another one.  
  
Squall wished he had thought of the idea earlier.  
  
As it was, they had made it to the house Squall had bought in one piece. Stephan had fallen asleep at around 8:30 and so Squall got out of the car as quietly as possible. He checked quickly to see if Stephan was still asleep in the car, and seeing that he was, he went into the house to set up somewhere for them to sleep.  
  
The house was perched up high on an enormous bluff, right by the ocean. The outside was painted a misty blue and it had big, open windows the glittered dully in the midnight darkness. The house itself was huge. It wasn't particularly big in terms of height, it was only two floors, but it stretched out languidly over the land. You couldn't tell from the front, but the back of the house also had a porch with stairs that led down to the beach behind the building. Squall had gotten his money's worth.  
  
It was a very nice house.  
  
And best of all, in Squall's opinion anyway, there wasn't a neighbor in sight.  
  
The house was actually separated far away from the rest of the town. About four miles away to be more precise. Squall liked the distance that it put between him and all those strangers. It was more comfortable that way. Sure, it might prove to be a little inconvenient when Stephan started going to school, but Squall figured that driving Stephan there himself would hardly be a problem.  
  
Squall opened the front door with a click and stepped inside.  
  
The walls were all either white or some light shade of grey, that gave the place a ghostly sort of feel to it. The floors were polished wood paneling and the furniture was all very modern-esque. Most of the house was decorated in black, white, or some shade of grey. Squall thought it was kind of boring, it reminded him of his old cadet dorm. He hoped the whole house wasn't all like this. He would have to do something about that if it was. After all, he may be able to deal with monochrome housing, but it would probably be somewhat damaging to the five year old's psyche to have so little color around him.  
  
Maybe he'd let Stephan take his crayons to the walls.  
  
At the moment though, he was just glad that there was already furniture and beds for him and Stephan to sleep on. He didn't really feel up to setting anything up right now.  
  
Squall walked slowly up the front hallway and into what appeared to be his new living room.  
  
He was pretty impressed. Monochrome decorating all aside, it was pretty nice.  
  
The room was big, very big. It was large and open. He had the impression that it got a lot of light during the daytime, though it was kind of hard to tell how much light a room gets at twelve a.m. There were two doors on the right wall of the room, and a small hallway as well. There was also a door at the back of the room, obviously leading out to the back porch. The left side of the room had an enormous half wall that led into the kitchen and another open doorway that led to what looked like the dining room.  
  
The kitchen and dining room looked pretty nice from what he could tell so far.  
  
Everything in the kitchen looked new and spotless. It was done in white and grey, with black and white swirled marble for the counters.  
  
This black and white thing was just getting ridiculous.  
  
Had the previous owner been color blind or something?  
  
There was a yet another door at the back of the kitchen. Squall had figured that it must have been a storage closet or something, but it wasn't. It was another room. A very large, and very empty room. The room appeared to be unfinished, the walls still a blank and featureless white, and the whole thing devoid of any furniture of any kind.  
  
That was interesting.  
  
He left the empty room and promised to look at it more closely later.  
  
He took a quick look at the dining room before moving onto the right side of the house. The dining room was big too, with a large black table and chairs set in the center. The house was so visually boring. He thought he might just go insane with the complete lack of color.  
  
He was definitely going to have to do something about this.  
  
He moved on to the rest of the house and he checked the two doors on the right first before going down the hall.  
  
The first door led to the first of what he knew to be two full bathrooms. The floor was covered in white marble veined with gold. The counter and sink were made of the same stone, only black this time. There was a huge, deep set, white porceline bathtub with black curtains. The walls were painted white with grey faded in and out of them. It was an expensive looking bathroom, as far as bathrooms go anyway. He wasn't looking for a bathroom right now though.  
  
And Hyne! All this black and white! The second door led to some kind of parlor. At least, Squall thought it was a parlor. He had never actually seen a parlor before. It looked comfortable anyway. It had big black leather couches in it. Not bad.  
  
Since his search for a place to sleep had been as of yet unfruitful, he decided to check upstairs.  
  
He just needed to find the stairs.  
  
Squall found the stairs to the second floor at the end of the hallway leading from the main room. There was a door on the left wall of the hallway that led to one of the three bedrooms. Squall figured that the rest of them must be upstairs.  
  
He climbed the stairs and found a long hallway. Three doors lined the right side of the hallway, and there was another at the very end. The first door was to a large, and formidably library.  
  
Squall had now had his own library.  
  
That was weird.  
  
He supposed it could be interesting though.  
  
Moving on.  
  
The second door went to another bedroom and so did the next. The door at the end of the hall led to another bathroom. This one decorated in (gasp!) shades of beige and white.  
  
His search finally successful, Squall headed back downstairs and outside to get Stephan. He hoped that Stephan liked the house. He would change the coloring as quickly as possible anyway though.  
  
He walked down the gravel drive slowly, feeling peaceful for the first time in what seemed like years. Maybe this would work out after all.  
  
As he opened the door, Squall felt his heart stop and the peaceful feeling that he had just finally attained, flutter away.  
  
Stephan wasn't in the car.  
  
***  
  
** Ever notice how there are no gas stations in FFVIII. Yes? No. Yeah, well I'm a giant dork, so sue me. I have always wondered about that though.It's like a fuel conspiracy.or not.  
  
Anyway.  
  
Heh.  
  
Cliffhanger. Oh the fun. I love giving out cliffhangers. Probably because they drive me up the wall. Ah, revenge.  
  
Oh, and just so you know, it took me over an hour to set up Squall's frickin' house. Stupid house. I had all these cool ideas and they just refused to fit into one house. Let me tell you, this house, is huge. Trust me. I have the whole house drawn on paper, floor plans and all. Oh the headaches.  
  
And also, I was asked how one pronounces Stephan's name. Here is your answer.  
  
Stephan's name is pronounced Stef-an, not Steven. I was actually unaware that it could even be pronounced like Steven until somebody told me so. Go figure. So yeah, the ph in his name is supposed to sound like an 'f', not a 'v'.  
  
Now you know.  
  
Read and respond.  
  
That is all.  
  
Kyrie. 


End file.
